Causes of the Reformation in Europe. Reformation: causes, essence, consequences

Ministry of Railways of the Russian Federation

SGUPS

Department of History and Political Science

Course work

Theme: Reformation in Europe

Completed by: second year student

Gusev A. O.

Faculty of MEiP, group SCS-211

Checked by: PhD Historical

Sciences Balakhnina M.V.

Novosibirsk 2002

Introduction. -3-

Catholic Church in the 14th-15th centuries. and reasons

Reformation. -5-

Beginning of the Reformation. -8-

Protestant Church. -eleven-

radical reformation. -15-

Popular Reformation and the Anabaptist sect. -16-

Peasant war in Germany 1524-1525. -17-

Calvin and the Calvinists. -22-

Reformation in England. -24-

Reformation in the Netherlands. -26-

Leaders of the Reformation. -29-

Counter-reformation. Religious Wars. -32-

- "Society of Jesus" and the Jesuits. -41-

Conclusion. -42-

Introduction.

Relevance.

The Reformation (Latin for “transformation”) is the generally accepted designation of the social and religious movement of the early 16th century, which swept almost all of Europe. The Reformation ideologically prepared the early bourgeois revolutions by cultivating a special type of human personality, having formulated the foundations of bourgeois morality, religion, philosophy, the ideology of civil society, laying the initial principles of the relationship of the individual, group and society. The Reformation became a spiritual response to the crisis thrown at the human spirit by the socio-economic and cultural situation of the 16th century.

Although the phenomenon of the Reformation left a huge imprint in world history and was global, pan-European, in nature, not many modern people are interested in the Reformation movement in Europe, and some do not even know what it is! Of course, 16th century. and modernity is separated by a huge abyss, but despite it, the Reformation stretched its roots from the depths of centuries to each of us. She in many ways brought up the foundations of an active, active personality, as well as today's attitude to religious faith and work.

Moreover, religion still occupies significant place in our lives, and along with the development of society, religious reforms become inevitable, so it would be reckless to forget the experience of our ancestors, acquired at such a high price.

Historiography of the Reformation.

Western historiography has devoted an enormous amount of literature to the Reformation. Many societies for the history of religion and the church, as well as special societies for the history of the Reformation in Germany and the USA, are engaged in the history of the Reformation, a special journal "Archiv fur Reformationsgeschichte" is published in several languages. The greatest attention of Western researchers is attracted by the Reformation in Germany (more precisely, the study of the theology of M. Luther), Calvinism, Christian humanism (especially Erasmus of Rotterdam). There is a great interest in the popular currents of the Reformation, in particular in Anabaptism.

But for Western historiography before the 20th century. What is remarkable is that much attention is directed to the study of theological problems. Another trend, especially characteristic of German Protestant historiography and dating back to L. Ranke, links the Reformation with the history of the state, in West German historiography of the 20th century. the largest representative is G. Ritter. Many representatives of this trend proclaim the Reformation as the beginning of an era of modern history.

Finally, at the beginning of the 20th century in Western science, a direction arose that establishes a connection between the Reformation and the social changes of the era. The religious-sociological theory of M. Weber about the role of Protestant (primarily Calvinist) ethics in the formation of the "spirit of capitalism" caused intense controversy in science. The connection of the Reformation with the general socio-economic development of the era is emphasized in the works of such essentially different researchers as the German theologian E. Troelch, the French historian A. Oze, and the English historian R. Tawney.

In general assessments of the Reformation, Marxist historiography is based on the characteristics given by the founders of Marxism, who saw in the totality of social movements its first act of the European bourgeois revolution. At the same time, the popular Reformation is studied most intensively in Germany, partly in the Netherlands, and Poland.

Modern researchers are still inclined to view the Reformation as a religious and social movement, and not as a "failed bourgeois revolution."

Sources.

The process of the Reformation has been studied quite well today, due to the abundance of sources and information about that period.

These include many documents of the time, such as the Edict of Nantes 1598. or M. Luther's letter "To the Christian nobility of the German nation about the correction of Christianity" 1520, "The Index of Forbidden Books", published by Pope Paul 3.

Numerous works of the leaders of the Reformation (J. Calvin - "Instructions in the Christian Faith" and comments on the Bible, M. Luther - theses, translation of the Bible into German and liturgical texts) and Catholic theologians.

In addition, we have reached literary works: Erasmus of Rotterdam "Praise of stupidity", " The Divine Comedy» the great Dante.

Also among the written monuments of the Reformation are historical chronicles, including those of the Catholic Church.

Of course, ideas about that time would not be complete without material sources from which we have an idea of ​​the modesty of the Protestant churches and the wealth of the Catholic ones.

The Catholic Church in the 14th-15th centuries and the causes of the Reformation.

The call for reform was driven by many reasons. In the 14th - early 15th century. Europe was going through a series of serious internal upheavals. Started in 1347 The plague wiped out a third of Europe's population. Due to the Hundred Years War and a series of conflicts between England and France (1337-1443), a large flow of energy was directed to military enterprises. The church hierarchy is mired in its own contradictions and entangled in the nets of international politics. The papacy entered into an alliance with France and moved to Avignon, which remained its center from 1309. until 1377 At the end of this period, the cardinals, whose allegiances were divided between France and Italy, elected one pope in April and another in September, 1377.

The great European schism in the papacy survived through the reigns of several popes. This situation was complicated by the decision of the Council of Pisa, which, having declared two popes as heretics, elected a third. Only the Council of Constance (1414-1417) succeeded in putting an end to the schism. Such difficulties experienced by the papacy, considered the central axis of Christianity, meant deep instability in Europe.

The highest Catholic clergy, headed by the pope, claimed to establish their political hegemony, to subjugate all secular life, state institutions and state power. These pretensions of the Catholic Church caused discontent even among the great secular feudal lords. Even more dissatisfaction was felt with the political pretensions of the church with its propaganda of contempt for secular life among residents of developing and growing cities.

At the same time, the beginning of the Renaissance gave rise to a new vision of man in literature and art. The revival of interest in human emotions, form, various branches of the human mind, often following ancient Greek models, was a source of inspiration in various areas of creativity and contained a challenge to the traditions of the Middle Ages.

At the end of the 14th - 15th century, signs of the decline of the Catholic Church became noticeable. In The Atlas of the Christian Church, Eamon Duffy lists some of these signs:

1. Corruption and inequality.

Of the: 70 European episcopates, 300 were in Italy; in Germany and Central Europe there were only 90 episcopates. The Bishop of Winchester received 1,200 florins; the bishop of Ross in Ireland received 33 florins

2. Uneducated parish clergy.

Many priests were unofficially married and in poverty.

“Extramarital cohabitation is widespread. The poverty-stricken priest, the father of several children, delivered an unintelligible sermon on Sundays, and the rest of the days he worked with his family on his plot of land. This picture was typical for the whole of Europe.

3. The decline of monasticism.

“Many monasteries used openly scandalous reputation. The number of novices was declining everywhere, and a handful of monks lived in luxury on the means intended for the subsistence of hundreds of people. Sexual promiscuity was not unusual."

But there were some positives too:

1. Reform groups.

They existed in all religious orders. Some bishops practiced contemplative piety based on the gospel. This movement (Devotio Moderna, "Modern Piety") found its classic expression in Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471) The Imitation of Christ.

2. Sermon.

The sermon was very popular, and the services led by the Dominican or Franciscan brethren attracted large numbers of people.

3. Strong community element among the laity.

Each parish had at least one "brotherhood": a religious community of lay people. In Europe, especially in Italy, these brotherhoods were engaged in charity: helping the dying, sick and prisoners. They organized orphanages and hospitals.

This time was also the heyday of religious rites, which grew on such a scale that they even often became targets for criticism. Pilgrimages, veneration of saints, festive religious processions were important for the laity, because they were easily accessible and were a manifestation of their religious feelings. However, the learned clergy found them more social events than a form of manifestation of religious feelings. In addition, the popular veneration of the dead has reached incredible proportions. For a long time there was a custom to donate money for masses to commemorate oneself or relatives - for the sake of the repose of the soul. The funds went to the maintenance of the clergy. But during this period, the number of masses became simply unthinkable.

In 1244 the monks of the city of Durham, England, were to serve 7132 masses. Henry 8 is said to have ordered 12,000 masses in the 16th century, at 6d each. Under conditions of economic change, when money increasingly became the measure of all values, the proportions between spiritual acts and their material support were disrupted.

Similar problems were associated with indulgences, which caused a lot of controversy. An indulgence was a papal decree that provided a person with release from punishment for his sins in purgatory (She did not give forgiveness, since the latter required repentance). Initially, indulgences were given for performing spiritual feats. So Pope Urban promised them to the participants of the crusade of 1045. However, by the beginning of the 15th century. indulgences, at least unofficially, became purchasable for money, and further infringements followed when Pope Sixtus 4 permitted the purchase of indulgences for dead relatives languishing in purgatory. The sale and purchase of church positions (simony) spread. Many bishops and priests, who lived openly with mistresses, were forgiven if they paid a fee for cohabitation, "lullaby money" for illegitimate children, etc. This, of course, gave rise to distrust among the laity towards the clergy. They did not refuse the sacraments, but sometimes they were more willing to apply for their performance not to their parishes, but to wandering priests. Seemed to them more pious, and continued to turn to alternative forms of manifestation of religious feelings.

By the beginning of the 16th century important changes are taking place in the life of Europe. There have been significant social changes. The great geographical discoveries led to the development of trade and the growth of wealth, especially among the inhabitants of trading cities. People who got rich in trade did not want their money to go to the Catholic Church headed by the Pope in the form of numerous payments and extortions.

All this affected the minds of the people. They thought more and more about today, about earthly life, and not about the afterlife - the life of heaven. During the renaissance, many educated people appeared. Against their background, the semi-literacy and fanaticism of many monks and priests became especially noticeable.

Once fragmented kingdoms united into powerful centralized states. Their rulers sought to subjugate such an influential force as the church to their power.

Beginning of the Reformation.

The gradual spread of secular religious movements, mysticism and sectarianism reflected some dissatisfaction with traditional spiritual authority and a desire to modify the religious practices of the Roman Catholic Church. This sentiment has led some to break with the church, or at least try to reform it. The seeds of the Reformation were planted in the 14th and 15th centuries. Although it seemed that the universal faith still remained a reliable basis for the development of scholastic theology, radical leaders appeared who decided to challenge the accepted church practices. At the end of the 14th century English writer John Wycliffe demanded that the Bible be translated into the common language, that communion be introduced with bread and wine, that secular courts be given the right to punish the clergy, and that the sale of indulgences be stopped. A few years later, a group of his followers, the Lollards, were accused of opposing the crown. In Bohemia, Jan Hus of the University of Prague led a related movement based on Wycliffe's ideas. As a result of this movement, the Czech army began to threaten the invasion of other European states. Basel Cathedral 1449 succeeded in resolving this particular dispute, but these movements were the forerunners of large, sometimes nationalistic, movements for religious reform.

At the end of the 15th-16th centuries. a number of scholars have come out with serious criticism of the church. Savonarola, a Florentine Dominican friar who vehemently criticized the corruption of the clergy, gathered many supporters. He predicted a radical reform of the church. The Dutch Erasmus of Rotterdam, one of the greatest Catholic humanists, wrote a treatise justifying the need for reform. He also composed satires about the church.

But the center of the Reformation was Germany, which was fragmented into many small states, often at war with each other. Germany, to a greater extent than other European countries, suffered from the arbitrariness of the princes of the church and extortions in favor of the pope. Many archbishops and bishops were independent princes, large landowners, owners of craft workshops, minted their own coins and had troops. The clergy cared more about improving their earthly existence, and not about saving the souls of believers. The princes and townspeople were outraged that the church was pumping money out of the country. The knights looked with envy at the riches of the church. People of low income suffered from church tithes, expensive church rites. The sale of indulgences caused particular outrage.

In 1514 Pope Leo 10 needed a lot of money to build the Basilica of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome. He announced the general forgiveness of sins and issued a large number of indulgences. Among the preachers who dispersed throughout Europe to sell papal indulgences was a Dominican monk named Johann Tetzel, who conveyed the meaning of his message to those around him with the help of an uncomplicated rhyme:

Coins are jingling in the casket

Souls will fly from hell.

Once, in a confessional, one of the notes with a call to buy an indulgence, written by Johann Tetzel, was handed to a priest and professor at the University of the North German city of Wittenberg, Martin Luther. Outraged, Martin Luther wrote 95 theses, in which he questioned the value of indulgences and condemned the practice of selling them. "The pope has no power to release from punishment for sins," wrote Luther. Defying ecclesiastical authority, he nailed his inflammatory theses on the door of the church on October 31, 1517.

Theses were as follows:

It is impossible to forgive sins without repentance, and repentance requires an inner rebirth of a person.

The repentant receives forgiveness by the grace of God, money and indulgences have nothing to do with it.

It is better to do a good deed than to pay off.

The main wealth of the church is not a treasury of good deeds, but the Holy Scriptures.

A month later, all of Germany knew about Luther's theses, and soon the Pope and Christians in other countries learned. To Leo 10, the matter at first seemed insignificant. To the pope, Martin Luther was just another heretic whose false teachings could never supplant the true religion of Rome. Eleven months later, the pope died without knowing that his short reign marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

Luther's ideas met with broad support in Germany. The church was taken by surprise. She tried to challenge Luther's views, then to ban his teachings. But all calculations turned out to be wrong. By the time the Church decided to speak openly against Luther, he was protected by his immense popularity in Germany. In July 1520 The pope excommunicated Luther from the church. In response, students at the University of Wittenberg burned the papal charter, and Luther announced the excommunication of the pope himself. Emperor Charles V took the side of the pope.

At the Worms Cathedral in 1521. he refused to repent until his position was refuted through Scripture and declared, answering his accusers: “Since I am convinced by the texts of Holy Scripture I have quoted and my conscience is in the power of the word of God, I cannot and do not want to for it is not good to act against one's conscience, I stand on it and cannot do otherwise. The movement expanded very quickly.

Elector Frederick of Saxony granted Luther refuge in his castle from the persecution of the church. At this time, Luther for the first time publishes a translation of the Bible in German, organizes a new church.

Luther wanted to reform the church from within. He was convinced that his teaching was true to the Bible, the creeds, and the Church Fathers. He objected only to later distortions and additions. But once the break came, he faced the difficult task of rebuilding and reforming the splinter part of the church. To solve it, Luther enlisted the support of secular rulers.

Protestant Church.

Dramatic changes took place in the areas that became Protestant, Germany and Switzerland. For one century, the power of the burghers, non-aristocratic laymen, was established there. They taxed the churches wherever possible, and insisted that the church merge with the world (more precisely, with the secular authorities), losing its autonomy. To satisfy their need for teaching, they themselves took up preaching. It was these secular preachers who accounted for much of Luther's support. Thus, from the very beginning of its existence, Protestantism gave the laity a good opportunity to choose, and in piety it was not inferior to monasticism. Protestant reformers supported the religiosity of a layman, engaged in ordinary worldly work, not shunning money and sexuality.

A new understanding of God emerged. In Catholicism, he was perceived as something external to a person, an external point of support. The spatial gap between God and man to a certain extent allowed for the presence of an intermediary between them, which was the church.

In Protestantism, the understanding of God changes significantly: from an external support, He turns into an internal one, located in the person himself. Now all external religiosity becomes internal, and at the same time all elements of external religiosity, including the church, lose their former significance.

Faith in God essentially acts as a person's faith in himself, for the presence of God is transferred into himself. Such faith really becomes internal affairs man, the work of his conscience, the work of his soul. This inner faith is the only condition and way for man's salvation.

The first reformers, led by Luther in Germany and Ulrich Zwingli, and then by Johann Calvin in Switzerland, attacked the ideal of monasticism first. While it created a special state of holiness, the Protestant Reformers insisted that any profession, not just the religious one, was a "vocation." Another important provision is the "priesthood of all believers" and "universal equality", meaning that everyone must communicate with God himself - without the mediation of priests. This was especially true of penitence and unction, a special form of penance for the dying, and most Protestants opposed these rites. By the 15th century repentance turned into a very long test for every believer, consisting in the fact that the confessor checked a long list of major and minor sins. Protestants did not accept these rites, firstly, because they made a person dependent on the confessor, and secondly, they demanded from him an incredible effort of memory and full awareness of all the forms that sin can take. They objected, believing that every Christian could confess to any other Christian, in this respect all believers were priests.

Then the Protestants abandoned a number of other important rites and sacraments. The sacraments of repentance and unction were abolished, the same fate befell the monastic vow. Marriage, confirmation, and ordination to the priesthood were no longer considered sacraments. Additional acts of penitence, such as the celebration of liturgies and pilgrimages, were also abolished. Baptism and the Eucharist were retained, but the Protestants were of a different opinion as to their meaning. Most churches baptized infants, but some, where the Reformation took a particularly radical form, baptized only adults. With regard to the Eucharist, the Protestants did away with many liturgies, replacing them with the celebration of God's meal, held from time to time. Some reformers, notably Luther, continued to hold that the body of Christ was present in the Eucharist; others, like Zwingli, regarded communion only as a solemn rite in memory of the Last Supper. In both cases, there is a tendency to reduce the importance of the liturgy among the majority of Protestants.

In almost all Protestant churches, the celebration of the sacraments has been replaced by the preaching of the Gospel and the acceptance of this Word with faith. The central doctrine introduced by Luther was that "the remission of sins is given by grace by faith alone", according to which a person can become righteous in the eyes of God not because of his external actions, communion or penitential pilgrimages, but only through personal faith in salvation through Jesus Christ. The preaching of the gospel was conceived as a measure aimed at strengthening faith. Thus, the words "sola fide, sola scriptura" - only by faith, only through Scripture - became the slogan of the Protestant movement. In addition, Protestants considered a person to be completely dependent on God, and as a result, unable to do anything to create faith in himself. Every soul is destined by God for salvation (according to Calvin, some are destined by God for damnation). Thus, the reformation, following Blessed Augustine, emphasized the direct dominion of God over human soul, on the Christian's own responsibility for his relationship with God and understanding of the church as a conductor of the Word of God, which awakens and perfects faith.

lutheran church. Supporters and followers of the teachings of Martin Luther began to be called Lutherans, and the church he created was called Lutheran. It differed from the Catholic Church in that:

First, the church, according to Luther, was the mentor of the people in the religious life;

Secondly, Luther believed that baptism introduces everyone to the church, and therefore to the priesthood. Therefore, the clergy should not differ from the laity in special qualities. A clergyman is only a position to which any member of a religious community can be elected. Monasticism was also abolished. The monks were allowed to leave the monasteries, start families and engage in various activities;

Martin Luther: "To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation for the Correction of Christianity" .

“To the Most Serene, Most Powerful Imperial Majesty and the Christian Nobility of the German Nation Dr. Martin Luther.

... It was not through my immodesty or unforgivable frivolity that, far from sovereign affairs, an ignorant person decided to turn to your Lordships: the need and oppression that weighed down all Christianity and, above all, the German land, forced me to turn with an appeal: do not whether God will inspire courage in anyone to extend his hand to an unfortunate nation.

... They invented that the pope, the bishop, the monks should be attributed to the clergy, and the princes, gentlemen, artisans and peasants - to the secular class. All this fabrication and swindle... after all, Christians truly belong to the clergy and there is no other difference between them, except perhaps the difference in position and occupation... We have one Baptism, one Gospel, one faith; we are all equally Christians… Since the secular rulers are baptized in the same way as we are, they have the same faith and gospel, we must allow them to be priests and bishops…”

Thirdly, the church should not have land and property other than what is used in worship. The lands of the monasteries were confiscated, the monasteries themselves and monastic orders were abolished;

Fourthly, at the head of the Lutheran church were rulers-princes, their subjects became Lutherans, worship was conducted in their native language;

Fifthly, the cult and rituals have become much simpler and cheaper than before. Icons, relics of saints, statues were removed from the church.

If “good deeds” among Catholics serve the goal of universal salvation, and the righteous help sinners in this, then among the Lutherans, faith could only be personal. Therefore, the salvation of the believer now became his individual affair. Holy Scripture was proclaimed to be the mediator between man and God, through which the believer discovered divine truths.

Much has been abolished during the reform process. But deep down Luther was a conservative man, so much remains. He continued to adhere to the doctrine of the presence of Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist. As a result, elaborate rituals and formal attire are often seen in modern Lutheran churches.

In many countries of Europe, the reformation was led by princes, dukes, kings, who carried it out in their own interests. Here the reformation, as a rule, was successful and contributed to the strengthening of the power of the rulers. Lutheran churches arose in the countries of Northern Europe - Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland. Luther's ideas were also supported in the Netherlands.

radical reformation.

All the leaders of the Reformation treated the Bible as the supreme authority. The churches they founded were very different from the medieval Catholic Church. They emphasized the importance of church education and, as far as possible, distanced themselves from the state.

On the other hand, the more intransigent representatives of the Reformation relied in everything on the power of the Holy Spirit and on the ability of God to speak to simple, uneducated believers. The leaders of the Radical Reformation rejected intellectual theology, were suspicious of secular governments, and expressed a desire for restitution (restoration). This meant that they wanted a complete, literal restoration of New Testament Christianity as they understood it:

General ownership of property;

Wandering shepherds;

Baptism of adult believers;

Some even preached from rooftops and tried to copy the shepherding structure described in the New Testament.

In contrast, the main figures of the Reformation were engaged in precisely the reforms: the change of church institutions according to the principles established in the New Testament and worked out by the history of the church. They were tolerant of many rites, because they understood that the most important doctrines can be applied in different ways, depending on the historical, social and cultural environment.

Some radicals were pacifists, others - early Baptists, Quakers, Mennonites - completely refused to participate in secular governments; still others sought to achieve a revolution in society by force. Some groups were characterized by a calm, contemplative mood, and they emphasized the inner work of the Holy Spirit. The most famous of these are the Quakers. Many believed that the second coming could come at any moment, so they needed to separate themselves from the world and create a perfect church and society.

Most of the radicals were united by a consistent desire to free the church from state interference. They were convinced that Catholicism allowed the corruption of religious authority when the latter was allowed to participate in foreign policy. The new religious principles of the Protestant Reformation found support, not because of their inherent purity of faith, but because of their connections with magistrates, city councils, and statesmen. A handful of reformers, striving for a revolutionary restructuring of society, wanted power to become the prerogative of only the "saints". In short, the radicals wished that no secular power could influence religious life. Their unwillingness to compromise on this point ensured their autonomy as independent religious groups, and it also caused their social influence to decline.

Under the umbrella of radicalism, in fact, there was a whole group of movements. Their orientation varied from moderately orthodox (Anabaptists) to irreconcilable (rationalists). The latter abandoned central Christian doctrines such as the Trinity. These movements did not have a large number of supporters, but they were considered dangerous for both Catholics and Protestants, and many of their representatives paid with their lives for their beliefs. They were seen as a threat to the state and civil order.

Popular Reformation and the Anabaptist sect.

In the spring of 1521, when Martin Luther uttered his own: “On this I stand and I cannot do otherwise,” crowds of parishioners in Wittenberg, inspired by a Lutheran priest, rushed to smash and destroy church relics - something that they had recently worshiped. This caused Luther obvious displeasure. He believed that "only the authorities, and not the common people, can carry out the Reformation."

However, Luther's supporters began to carry out reform according to their own understanding, created many churches and sects. This is how the Anabaptist sect arose.

The word "Anabaptists" means "baptizers". Jesus Christ was baptized at a conscious age, they said. Like him, they were baptized a second time as adults, thus being cleansed of their sins. They called themselves "saints" because they lived without committing sins. The "saints", thought the Anabaptists, could build the Kingdom of Heaven here on Earth. Divine orders, in their opinion, are the only correct ones, but the Catholic Church distorted them to please the noble and rich. A "saint" should not be subject to anyone but God. The “saints” by their actions should establish a real, divine order and thereby hasten the terrible judgment on sinners.

The Anabaptists believed that since they were “saints,” then they were to administer God’s judgment: overthrow unworthy rulers, redistribute wealth, and establish just laws. The Anabaptists soon took up arms against Luther, as they believed that he was not going to proceed to God's judgment. They cursed Luther, and Luther called them snakes in the "garden of the new church."

Peasant war in Germany 1524 - 1525.

The views of the Anabaptists were shared by one of eminent figures People's Reformation, a priest from the city of Zwickau, Thomas Müntzer (1493-1525). Müntzer predicted that "great upheavals" would soon await people, when "the downtrodden would be raised up." Moreover, the judgment of God will be administered by the people themselves.

In 1524 - 1525. The Peasants' War broke out in much of Germany. It began in the summer of 1524. in Swabia (Southwest Germany) when a minor event caused a storm of protest. In the midst of a suffering time - August 24, 1524. - the Countess of Stülingen ordered the peasants to go out to collect strawberries and river shells. The lordly whim and complete disregard for their needs angered the peasants. They refused to obey. The peasants refused to fulfill the corvee, created an armed detachment and opposed the feudal lords and the Catholic Church. The preacher in the detachment was one of Müntzer's followers. The news of this spread with lightning speed and stirred up even distant villages. In the nearby city of Waldsgut, the peasants, together with the townspeople, created the "Evangelical Brotherhood" and sent out messengers to neighboring regions with an appeal to join. The uprising soon engulfed all of Swabia and began to spread through Franconia, then Saxony and Thuringia. The situation prevailing at that time favored the success of the peasant movement. By March 1525 40 thousand armed peasants and urban poor operated in Swabia. Most of the nobles and soldiers who stood under the imperial banner were in distant Italy. Inside the country there was no force capable of resisting the armed peasants who opposed the owners and monasteries.

The success of the peasant movement depended on decisiveness, speed of action, and coordination of actions. This truth was well understood by their adversaries, who made every effort to buy time to gather military forces and recruit mercenaries. The authorities promised the peasants to consider their claims in court. So they managed to impose a truce on the rebels. But when the long-awaited court gathered in Stockach, it turned out that all the judges in it were noblemen, from whom there was nothing to expect justice. However, even after that, the peasants still hoped for a peaceful resolution of the issue. Meanwhile, the enemy was gathering forces.

March 7, 1525 Representatives of the peasant detachments gathered in Memmingen. They adopted a program - "12 articles", in which they demanded the election of priests, the abolition of tithes in favor of the church, the reduction of corvée and dues, the abolition of serfdom, the right to hunt and fish for peasants, and return communal lands. The peasants sent their program to Luther for review, counting on the support of the illustrious leader of the Reformation. But Luther replied that serfdom did not contradict Holy Scripture at all, since the Bible says that even the forefather Abraham had slaves. “As for the other points,” declared Luther, “that is the business of lawyers!”

Catholics and Lutherans assured that all people are equal before God, but that they will feel equal in the afterlife. For the sake of this, they must humbly endure all the injustices of earthly life as a test sent by God. Thomas Müntzer demanded equality on Earth. He taught that equality must be achieved with arms in hand. “If,” Müntzer declared, “Luther’s like-minded people do not want to go further than attacks on priests and monks, then they should not have taken up the matter.”

Müntzer looked to the Bible for evidence to support his thoughts. In one of his speeches, he cited as an example the biblical legend about the dream of the Babylonian king, who dreamed that the statues of gold and iron, standing on clay feet, were broken by a blow of a stone. The blow of a stone, he explained, is a nationwide indignation that will sweep away the power based on the power of weapons and money.

Müntzer wrote a "letter - theses", which consisted of only three points. The first of them demanded that all residents of villages and cities, including nobles and churchmen, join the "Christian Union". The second point provided for the destruction of monasteries and castles and the transfer of their inhabitants to ordinary dwellings. And, finally, the third point, where Müntzer, foreseeing the resistance of the inhabitants of monasteries and castles, proposed as punishment not the former excommunication from the church, but "secular excommunication."

On April 2, when the court was to be held again to consider peasant demands, the princes and nobles violated the truce. The commander of the Swabian Union, Truchses von Waldburg, treacherously attacked the Leipheim peasant camp (near Ulm), defeated it and executed one of the leaders of the rebels.

The knights managed to defeat the peasant detachments in Swabia. But the truce no longer existed and in the spring of 1525. a peasant uprising flared up in Central Germany, knights and townspeople joined it. Enraged peasants besieged castles and burned hateful documents about feudal duties.

Thus began the Great Peasant War, its center was Franconia and the city of Helsbronn. Here, the townsman Wendel Gipler, a nobleman by birth, became the main adviser and leader of the rebels. He wanted to use the peasant movement in the interests of the townspeople. Hipler sought to create a single army from the detachments, led by experienced military leaders. At the insistence of Gipler, the knight Goetz von Berlichingen was placed at the head of a large "Light" detachment, who turned out to be a corrupt man. The peasants did not trust this leader and tried in every possible way to limit his actions. With such a leader, the “Light” detachment, of course, could not become the core of the formation of a single rebel army. The most revolutionary elements, led by Rohrbach, left the "Light" detachment.

The rebels destroyed hundreds of castles and monasteries, executed the largest and most famous oppressors from among the nobles. Gipler and his supporters worked out a new program of demands in Helsbronn. The Helsbronn program promised the knights - monastic lands; to townspeople - the destruction of internal customs, the introduction of a single coin, measures and weights, the removal of restrictions on the sale of many goods; Peasants - the right to free themselves from serfdom, but only for ransom on very difficult conditions. Such a program could not satisfy the peasant class.

However, the German feudal lords managed to suppress the uprising in Franconia. The uprising swept Thuringia and Saxony. It was led by Thomas Münzer, who settled in Mühlhausen. The inhabitants of the city elected the "Eternal Council" and proclaimed Mühlhausen a free commune. He scattered his fiery appeals throughout the country. In a letter to the Mansfeld miners, Müntzer warned them of the main danger: “I am only afraid that stupid people will not be carried away by false agreements in which they will not see malicious intent ... Do not give in, even if enemies will turn to you with a kind word!”. Müntzer's warning was issued at a time when Truchses von Waldburg was cunningly avoiding a general battle and concluding armistice agreements with individual peasant detachments. The peasants faithfully observed these treaties, while Truchses, meanwhile, crushed the disparate detachments. On May 5, he attacked the peasant forces near Böbling. Under the unexpected onslaught of Truchses' mercenaries, the burghers were the first to waver. With their flight, they opened the flank of the peasant forces, and the battle ended in the defeat of the rebels. At the same time, the wonderful leader of the peasants, Rohrbach, was captured. By order of Truchses, he was burned at the stake.

And in other parts of Gemania, the army of knights and mercenaries acted by deceit and smashed detachments of peasants one by one, using their disunity. It was not possible to create a single rebel army: this was hampered by the stubborn unwillingness of the peasants themselves to fight far from their native villages, the ruin of which they were afraid.

Truchses marched with fire and sword along the valleys of the rivers Necker, Kocher, Yangst and destroyed separately small peasant detachments. He also defeated the depleted Light Squad.

The rebels held out the longest in Saxony and Thuringia, where Müntzer's calls found support not only among the peasants, but also among the miners. Müntzer ordered to surround the rebel camp near Frankenhausen with a chain of wagons and prepare for battle. The almost unarmed peasants were attacked by the prince's cavalry, supported by artillery. The enemy cavalry easily crushed the ranks of peasant infantrymen, poorly armed and untrained in military affairs. In an unequal battle, more than half of the rebels died. Shortly thereafter, Müntzer was captured. He courageously endured terrible tortures, but did not bow his head before the victors. All members of the Eternal Council were executed, and the city even lost its former liberties.

In 1525 unfolded peasant uprisings in the Austrian lands. They were headed by the talented people's reformer Michael Geismeyer, a follower of Thomas Müntzer. He successfully repelled the attacks of the knights, however, in this case, the forces were unequal: the rebels were defeated.

Martin Luther, who believed that the people should be submissive to the authorities, attacked the rebels with anger, suggesting that the princes strangle them like "mad dogs". The common people "pray no more and do nothing but abuse their freedom," he wrote.

Münster Commune .

The leaders of the popular reformation, in turn, considered Luther, along with the pope, the Antichrist. The members of the city commune of the German city of Münster also claimed so. In the elections of 1534 the city magistrate here won the Anabaptists. For a year and a half they built the “kingdom of saints” in the city. They expelled the Lutherans, and the rich townspeople and Catholics fled themselves. The Anabaptists canceled debts, took away property from the Catholic Church, distributed among themselves the wealth of the prince-bishop; gold and silver were spent on public needs. All property became common; money was cancelled. The city of Münster was renamed New Jerusalem.

The bishop of Munster, together with the knights, began a siege of the city, which lasted 16 months. In June 1535, they broke into the city and killed all the inhabitants. The leaders of the uprising were executed.

The Anabaptists were active in many European countries until the end of the 17th century. Not all of them rebelled. Many peacefully awaited the second coming of Christ, engaged in moral perfection. But their ideas had a huge impact on contemporaries and descendants.

In most of Germany, the moderate reformation won. The unlimited power of the Catholic Church was preserved mainly in the south of the country. The princes enriched themselves at the expense of church property and subjugated the priests of the new church. The victory of the moderate reformation led to the strengthening of the princely power on the ground, and thus to even greater political and economic fragmentation of Germany.

Calvin and the Calvinists .

The second stage of the Reformation, which began in the forties of the 16th century, is associated with the name of John Calvin, a follower of the teachings of Luther.

He created his doctrine of predestination, which gained fame and recognition among Protestants. If the teaching of Luther followed from "justification by faith", then the teaching of Calvin was based on the dgma of "divine predestination". Man, Calvin argued, cannot be saved by his own efforts. God initially divided all people into those who will be saved and those who will perish. God gives his chosen ones "means of salvation": strong faith, unbending steadfastness in the fight against the devil's temptations and temptations. To those whom God predestined to damnation, He does not give either faith or stamina; He, as it were, pushes the reprobate to evil and hardens his heart. God cannot change his original choice.

According to the teachings of Calvin, none of the people is given to know about the Lord's predestination, therefore a person must cast aside all doubts and behave as God's chosen one behaves. Calvinists believe that God will grant success in life to his chosen ones. This means that a believer can test his election by how successful he is in business: whether he is rich, talented in any business, authoritative in politics, respected in public affairs, happy in risky enterprises, whether he has good family. The worst thing is to be considered a loser. The Calvinist carefully hides this from others: Pitying the outcast is the same as doubting the will of God.

"Geneva Pope in Protestant Rome" .

Geneva was a wealthy city. Every citizen had access to power and management, there were very few poor people. The work of artisans and merchants was held in high esteem here. The townspeople loved magnificent holidays and theatrical performances. The arts and sciences were valued, the Genevans respected highly educated people.

The townspeople fought for their freedom from the Duke of Savoy for a long time. They did not have enough of their own strength and they asked for help from the neighboring canton - Bern. Berne provided assistance, but demanded the Reformation. So Geneva began to join Protestantism. In order to smoke the ranks of the reformers, the Genevan authorities persuaded Calvin to remain in their city.

Very irritable and sickly, with a long, pale face of an ascetic and sunken cheeks, thin lips and a frantic gleam in his eyes - this is how Calvin was remembered by the Genevans. He was extremely intolerant of dissidents, did not forgive people for shortcomings, led a modest lifestyle and tried to be close to his flock in everything. His ability to persuade and unshakable will were truly limitless. Of course, he felt like God's chosen one. "Man is born to glorify God," he said. And his life was subject to it.

It is better to condemn the innocent than to leave the guilty unpunished, Calvin argued. He handed down death sentences to all whom he considered blasphemers: those who opposed his church organization, spouses who violated marital fidelity, sons who raised their hands against their parents. Sometimes, suspicion alone was enough. Calvin used torture extensively. He sentenced to burning the famous Spanish thinker Miguel Serveta, who did not agree with his views.

Private taverns were closed, the number of dishes at dinners was strictly calculated. Calvin even developed the styles and colors of costumes, the shape of women's hairstyles. There were no beggars in the city - everyone worked. All children attended school. It was forbidden to return home after 9 pm. Nothing should be able to tear a person away from thoughts about family and work. Income was valued much more than leisure. Even Christmas was a working day. Even before Calvin, work was held in high esteem among the Genevans, but now it was treated as a call of God, as an activity equal in value to prayer.

The desire to achieve success, frugality and hoarding, work and impeccable behavior, tireless care for the family and home, the upbringing and education of children, the constant striving for perfection and glorifying God throughout life have become integral features of the Protestant (or rather Calvinist) ethics.

Calvin sent missionaries to many countries, and soon Calvinist communities were already active in the Netherlands and England, France and Scotland. It was they who significantly influenced subsequent events in these countries.

Thus, the Reformation covered all the countries of Western Europe.

Reformation in England .

The European Reformation was a complex combination of spiritual discoveries, political and national interests, economic factors and driving forces society. But in England, she went a special way, due to:

the Lollardist tradition (dating back to John Wycliffe);

Christian humanism;

The influence of Lutheran ideas in the universities;

Anti-clericalism - hostility to the clergy, who were often illiterate;

The conviction that the state should have more control over the church.

In 1521 King Henry 8 wrote a declaration against Luther and the Pope called him "Defender of the Faith" (a title still held by British monarchs). Such was Henry's zeal that Thomas More - later executed for his devotion to the Catholic Church - reminded the king that popes were not only spiritual leaders, but also Italian princes. However, when the pope refused to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Henry declared himself head of the Church of England (1534) and was excommunicated. Then Henry took up the liquidation of monasteries in order to replenish the treasury and strengthen his supremacy in church affairs. He ordered to burn all the icons, to introduce a new prayer book.

His act of state plunged England into bloody turmoil. The heir of Henry 8, young Edward 6, was a Protestant, but he was replaced by a zealous Catholic Queen Mary. Her successor, Elizabeth 1, had no desire to make "windows into the souls of people", and in the end, both the Protestant and the Catholic Church survived in England.

Henry 8 shared the principles of Catholic theology, but some people around him were staunch Protestants. Archbishop Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) and statesman Thomas Cromwell (1485-1540) belonged to their number.

As a result of political turmoil in the Anglican Church, an interesting confusion of views arose. Here are some of its characteristic features:

Believers with pronounced Protestant convictions;

Believers who adhered to paternalistic theology (the theology of the early church fathers) and traditions;

The liturgy and structure of the church (bishops, vestments and church administration) retained many links to the past.

Puritans .

The more strict Protestants, often called Puritans, rejected the ideas of "accommodation". They demanded the cleansing of the Anglican Church from the remnants of Catholicism: the separation of church and state, the destruction of the rank of bishops, the confiscation of their lands, the abolition of most religious holidays, the cult of saints. Puritans of various directions sought to ensure that their lives did not contradict the Holy Scriptures. To do this, they demanded a revision of all existing laws and customs. Human laws, in their opinion, only then have the right to exist when they are fully consistent with the Holy Scriptures.

Many of the Puritans subsequently went to America. The Pilgrim Fathers set sail from Plymouth in 1620. on the Mayflower. Others became schismatic or nonconformist in England.

The largest groups among the Puritans were the Independents and the Presbyterians. Presbyterianism was predominantly distributed among the commercial and industrial strata of the population and the "new nobility". The Presbyterians believed that the church should not be run by a king, but by an assembly of priestly presbyters. In the prayer houses of the Presbyterians there were no icons, crucifixes, altars, candles. They considered the main thing in worship not prayer, but the sermon of the presbyter. The elders were elected by the community of believers, they did not wear special clothes.

The Presbyterian Church was established in Scotland. Here, for two centuries, there was a fierce struggle between the clans, headed by the local aristocracy. Unlike England, the royal power in Scotland was very weak. Thanks to Presbyterianism, the Scots managed to stop the clan strife. The Church has become the main unifier of the country.

The leadership of the Presbyterian Church opposed the absolute power of the king. So, the presbyters directly declared to the Scottish king James 6: “There are 2 kings and 2 kingdoms in Scotland. There is a king Jesus Christ and his kingdom - the church, and there is his subject Jacob 6, and in this kingdom of Christ he is not a king, not a ruler, not a lord, but a member of the community.

The Independents, that is, "independents", among whom there were many representatives of the rural and urban lower classes, opposed the fact that the church was controlled by an assembly of presbyters and, moreover, by the king himself. They believed that each community of believers should be completely independent and independent in religious affairs. For this they were persecuted both in England and in Scotland, accusing them of undermining the faith and the nation.

Reformation in the Netherlands .

The Netherlands once belonged to the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, but as a result of the dynastic marriages of his children and grandchildren, they went to Spain. The Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and at the same time the King of Spain, Charles 5 (1519 - 1556) felt himself a full owner of this land, especially since he was born in one of the cities of the Southern Netherlands - Ghent.

The emperor levied huge taxes from the Netherlands. All his other possessions, including Spanish America, gave 5 million gold to the treasury, and the Netherlands - 2 million. In addition, large sums of money were pumped out of the Netherlands by the Catholic Church.

The ideas of the Reformation found fertile ground here. They were supported by the majority of the population, especially in large cities - Amsterdam, Antwerp, Leiden, Utrecht, Brussels, etc. To stop the reformation in the Netherlands, Charles 5 issued a very cruel set of prohibitions. Residents were forbidden to read not only the works of Luther, Calvin and other reformers, but even to read and discuss ... the Bible! Any gatherings, destruction or damage to icons or statues of saints, harboring heretics were prohibited. Violation of any of these prohibitions led to the death penalty. The number of strangled, beheaded, burned alive and buried reached 100,000 people. Refugees from the Netherlands fled to the Protestant countries of Europe.

No less ferocious for the Netherlands was the reign of the son of Charles 5, Philip 2 of Spain (1556-1598). He partially returned the church lands seized by the Protestants, endowed the Catholic bishops with the rights of the Inquisition. In 1563 the Spanish Inquisition sentenced to death all the inhabitants of the Netherlands as incorrigible heretics! The words of Philip 2, which he uttered at the burning of a Spanish heretic, are known: “If my son were a heretic, I myself would lay down a fire to burn him.”

Despite the repressions, Protestantism was firmly established in the Netherlands. During the Reformation, many Calvinists and Anabaptists appeared here. In 1561 Calvinists of the Netherlands for the first time declared that they support only that authority whose actions do not contradict the Holy Scriptures.

The following year, Calvinists begin to openly oppose the policies of Philip 2. They held prayers for thousands of people in the vicinity of cities, and released fellow believers from prisons. They were also supported by the arrestees - Prince William of Orange, Count Egmont, Admiral Horn. They and their noble supporters demanded that the Spanish king withdraw troops from the Netherlands, convene the Estates General, and repeal the laws against heretics.

In 1565-1566. The Netherlands was famine-stricken. The crop failure was used by the Spanish nobles and Philip II, who decided to cash in on grain speculation. These circumstances increased the general discontent in the Netherlands. Now those who were ready to oppose the Spanish yoke and the Catholic Church were joined by aristocrats, nobles, merchants, wealthy citizens - burghers.

Iconoclastic movement. Terror of Alba .

In the summer of 1566 the iconoclastic movement unfolded throughout much of the Netherlands. Iconoclasts not only destroyed icons, but also ravaged and destroyed Catholic churches. In a few months, 5,500 churches and monasteries were subjected to pogrom, and in some places - noble houses and castles. The townspeople and peasants obtained from the Spanish authorities permission for the activities of Calvinist preachers, but not for long.

The very next year, King Philip II of Spain sent the Duke of Alba to the Netherlands to deal with heretics. His ten thousandth army staged a bloody terror in the Netherlands. Alba headed the "Council of Rebellions", which issued more than 8 thousand death sentences, including sentences for the closest associates of William of Orange.

In addition, Alba introduced 3 new taxes, which led to numerous bankruptcies and ruins. “It is better to preserve an impoverished and even ruined state for God and the king than to have it in a flourishing state for Satan and his associates – heretics,” he said. Protestant leaders, many Calvinist and Anabaptist townspeople fled the country. The armed resistance of William of Orange and his German mercenaries were crushed.

However, the fight against the Spaniards continued gueuzes. So called themselves anti-Spanish nobles and all those who fought against the Spanish regime. They attacked Spanish ships, garrisons, fortresses.

The further course of the Reformation is connected with the Spanish-Dutch War and the bourgeois revolution in the Netherlands, as a result of which an independent Protestant state with a republican form of government was formed from the northern provinces. The southern provinces remained Catholic under the rule of the Spanish king.

The Reformation divided Dutch society into those who represented new centers and new values. European life, and those who represented the traditional society. The first are the owners of manufactories, merchants and the nobility, farmers, and hired workers associated with the developing world trade. All of them were, as a rule, Protestants - Calvinists, Anabaptists, Lutherans. The second - the Catholic clergy, the burghers of the old craft cities, landowners, peasants - remained faithful to Catholicism.

Reformation leaders.

Martin Luther (1483-1546)

He left a deep mark on world culture as the leader of the German Reformation, as a conductor of humanistic ideas of rebirth and as a translator of the Bible into German.

Martin Luther was born into the family of a peasant who became a mine owner. No matter how poor the family was at the beginning, the father dreamed of giving his son a good education. Parents raised the boy with very harsh methods. He grew up as a pious child, constantly thinking about how many good deeds he needs to do in order to propitiate the Lord.

After graduating from the university, Luther, to the great surprise of many acquaintances, went to the monastery. It seemed to him that the thick monastery walls would save him from sin and help save his soul.

The central object of Luther's spiritual quest was the Bible, which was often seen as a source for maintaining the doctrines of the church rather than as a guide in matters of life and faith.

The spearhead of his attack was directed at a sophisticated system of indulgences. Many ordinary people readily responded to the preaching of the still unknown monk. There were several reasons for this massive support:

Many people were better educated than before;

They have new economic, social, national and political aspirations;

They increasingly disliked the interference of Rome in the affairs of the national church;

They became disillusioned with the church hierarchy;

People were spiritually hungry.

Martin Luther was an outstanding writer. Evidence of this is his translation of the Bible into German (1522-1534), his liturgical texts (1526), ​​his extensive theological heritage, church hymns, of which he is the author.

In translating the Bible, Luther drew on traditions dating back centuries. The language of the translation was simple, colorful, close to colloquial, which is why his Bible was so popular. Goethe and Schiller admired the expressiveness of Luther's language, and Engels wrote of the Lutheran Bible: Augean stables not only of the church, but also of the German language, created modern church prose and composed the text of that chorale imbued with confidence in the victory, which became the Marseillaise of the 16th century.

John Calvin (1509-1564)

Founder of Calvinism. He was a brilliant theologian of great intelligence and depth.

He most consistently developed the doctrine of "divine predestination", which is the basis of all Protestant theology.

Calvin did not allow criticism of his teaching. He even contributed to the condemnation and burning of the academic council, which opened the small (pulmonary) circle of blood circulation, for criticizing Christian dogmas.

His works ("Instructions in the Christian Faith" and commentaries on the Bible) are voluminous, but read with remarkable ease.

Calvin founded an academy that sent spiritual mentors to various European countries. He created a flexible church structure capable of adapting and surviving in hostile states, which Lutheranism failed to do.

Erasmus of Rotterdam (1469-1536)

Theologian, philologist, writer. He enjoyed great prestige and was one of the most educated people of his time. The French philosopher P. Bayle rightly called him "John the Baptist" of the Reformation.

Erasmus was born in Holland. He studied the ancient languages ​​and the works of the Italian humanists with great zeal. Living in the Netherlands, France, England, Italy, but most of all in Germany, Erasmus was enthusiastically engaged in science and literature, he translated the Bible and the works of the “Church Fathers” from Latin into Greek. In translation and, especially, in comments, he sought to give the texts his own humanistic interpretation. Gained great popularity satirical works Erasmus (the most famous - "Praise of stupidity"). The subtle and sharp satire of Erasmus ridiculed the shortcomings of society. Criticizing the external, ritual side of the Catholic Church, feudal ideology and the entire system of medieval views, Erasmus essentially defended the new principles of emerging bourgeois relations. In the spirit of his time, he tried to preserve the foundations of the religious worldview and demanded that christian religion rationalistic basis. Erasmus ridicules those righteous people who declare a person and all earthly life sinful, preach asceticism, mortification of the flesh in the name of purification of the spirit.

The desire to try on religion and reason is the basis of the philosophical views of Erasmus. It is now clear that Erasmus of Rotterdam was right in considering any transformation of society by revolutionary force harmful. His views are surprisingly relevant and modern. He considered possible and necessary only the peaceful propaganda of humanistic ideas, which would have a permanent beneficial effect on social development. Erasmus was opposed to theocracy. In his opinion, political power should be in the hands of secular persons, and the role of the clergy should not go beyond moral propaganda.

During the period when Erasmus lived in Germany, neither the imperial nor the princely power could stop the growing movement of the masses and the rise of the oppositional moods of the burghers.

Erasmus himself did not leave the bosom of the Catholic Church, but in many respects his criticism of the mores of the church was even more radical and destructive than that of Luther.

Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531)

Zwingli, reacting to the same spiritual crisis as Martin Luther, came to similar conclusions. However, work on them took place in a completely different environment: in the city-state of Zurich. Zwingli was more strongly influenced by humanistic ideas than Luther. Humanism 16th century was a Christian movement composed of people interested in preserving the cultural and historical heritage discovered during the Renaissance.

Zwingli admired the ideas of Erasmus of Rotterdam. The Reformation movement, which he led in Zurich in the late twenties of the 16th century, was more implacable and rational than Luther's. Zwingli rejected the dogma of the physical presence of Christ in the elements of the Eucharist. In accordance with this, the interior decoration of the Zwinglian churches was maximally simplified: free space with bare whitewashed walls. Many of his followers were newly wealthy merchants and artisans. They were attracted not only by the new theology, but also by the opportunity to challenge the status quo. Zwingli became involved in the politics of the Swiss city-states and died in a battle between the Catholic and Protestant cantons.

Counter-reformation. Religious Wars.

Reaction of the Catholic Church .

Despite the fact that the Reformation swept almost all countries of Western Europe, the Catholic Church managed not only to survive, but also to strengthen itself in these difficult conditions for it. This would not have been possible without qualitative changes in her life, without new ideas, without people fanatically devoted to the Holy See in Rome. Catholicism stubbornly fought against the heresy that engulfed Europe, applying the most cruel measures. But there was another struggle. Its meaning is to strengthen Catholicism itself. Both the creed and the church could not remain the same. That's why some scholars talk about the reform of the Catholic Church - the Catholic Reformation. Her task was to create a church more in line with the spirit of the New Age. The papacy went on the offensive.

“Peoples must be eternally submissive to the power of priests and kings,” wrote Pope Clement 7, “in order to achieve our goal, in order to prevent uprisings, we must put an end to freethinking, which shakes our throne. We must show strength! Turn soldiers into executioners! Light the fires! Kill and burn in order to cleanse the religion of filth! Kill the scientists first! Abolish the printing press!”

The counteroffensive against the Reformation went down in history as the Counter-Reformation. For a whole century - until the middle of the 17th century. – Roman popes are openly and covertly fighting against heretics. For their return to the bosom of the Catholic Church. In countries of Eastern Europe they managed to cope with the Reformation; in Western and Central Europe, the confrontation between Catholics and Protestants resulted in a series of bloody religious wars.

In the struggle against the Reformation, the pope was supported by the princes of South Germany, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles 5, his son, King Philip II of Spain, and the Italian rulers.

Pope Paul 3 nevertheless tried to find out the reasons for the success of the reformation. Since many reformers openly associated their views with the need to purify the church, Paul 3 formed a commission to study the problems of the church. The report of the commission horrified the pope, as it turned out that much needed to be changed. The commission drew up the Consilium de Emenda Ecclesia (Recommendations for the Reform of the Church) in 1537. This document is sharply critical of the Church's abuses and makes recommendations that led to significant reforms later on. Since that time, the church has more closely monitored the behavior of the clergy and the level of their education. Theological faculties and church schools were opened, the clergy were taught to conduct disputes and discussions.

The Pope issued a list of books - "Index" - that were forbidden to be read by parishioners. Not only the works of the leaders of the Reformation, but also scientists, writers, and humanists got here.

Pope Paul 4 (1555-1559) became one of the examples of narrowness of thinking, strictness and intolerance. He was as far removed from Enlightenment humanism as he was from Protestantism. He enforced his views, using the full power of the Inquisition. Such ruthless methods have, to a certain extent, allowed Catholicism to survive and survive to this day. Moreover, in the Catholic Church, despite such “spiritual shepherds” as Pope Paul 4, devotion, zeal and purity of faith have revived again.

There was still a faint hope of reunion with the Protestants. Some Catholic theologians such as Cardinal Contarini (1483-1542) and Protestants such as the Lutheran Philip Melanchthon (1497-1560) were able to agree on the principle of "justification by faith". Unfortunately, this initiative has not received due development.

The authority of the papacy and the church was to be strengthened by the Council of Trent, which met intermittently from 1545. by 1563 The council, which brought together representatives of the higher clergy, sharply condemned the Reformation, accused the Protestants of heresy. The pope was declared the supreme authority in matters of faith. The Council's declarations were essentially anti-Protestant:

Justification is possible not only by faith;

Church tradition is revered on a par with the Bible;

The Vulgate (Latin version of the Bible) is declared the only canonical text;

Mass should still be celebrated in Latin.

The priests were urged to establish the closest fellowship with the vepians. Confessions and communions became more frequent, now priests often visited the houses of believers and had conversations with them. They urged believers to be more active in saving their souls, to constantly control their behavior. A person bears his fate in his own hands, they preached, emphasizing the individual salvation of the believer, albeit in the bosom of the Catholic Church.

Later, many historians began to accuse this cathedral of extreme conservatism, allegedly confirming the old views. But such a judgment is wrong. The theologians and bishops assembled at the Council of Trent devoted hundreds of hours to revisit the old positions and beat the dust of the ages from the Catholic doctrines of original sin, remission of sins, and sacraments. Its participants often disagreed. And if some statements or positions seem traditional or conservative, this is only a consequence of the fact that, firstly, the best Catholic minds of that time still found them true, and secondly, the participants in the council put the unity of the church above personal predilections. So one cardinal refused to publicly express his views on absolution. Later it turned out that, in fact, he agreed with Luther on this issue, but did not want to aggravate the problems of the church and remained silent.

During the years of the counter-reformation, the higher clergy discovered with horror that in common people much more pagan than Christian. This is where the fertile ground for heresy was! Belief in sorcerers, witches, miraculous drugs, divination, the church resolutely expelled. The people could not distinguish the preaching of a Catholic from the preaching of a Protestant. Therefore, the clergy began to publish huge editions of the Catechism - answers to questions about the Catholic dogma. The answers were hints in case the believer had to enter into an argument with a heretic. But in order to read the Catechism one must be literate. And the church opens church schools for peasants and poor townspeople. And again typography helped, which Clement 7 wanted to abolish.

If earlier the laity went to church, then in the era of the Counter-Reformation, the church went into the world, began to conduct active secular activities, more and more connecting itself with the earthly existence of people. It is not known what the fate of the Catholic Church would have been if she had not managed to find her way from heaven to Earth, from eternity to time.

Beginning of the religious wars .

The Reformation and the Counter-Reformation made the continental part of Europe look like a patchwork quilt. For a whole century it became the scene of fierce clashes between Catholics and Protestants. These clashes are called religious wars.

For people of the 16th century. everything “wrong” is necessarily the machinations of the devil and his servants, who violate the divine order, and therefore bring evil and prevent people from being saved. With them it was necessary to fight not for life, but for death.

According to Protestant Calvinists, those destined for salvation are successful in earthly affairs. Therefore, they fought desperately against what prevented success in craft, trade, industry and politics.

A Lutheran Protestant is saved by faith. A strong, strong faith is associated with the integrity and morality of a person, with the strength of moral principles in society. All this is helped by the ruler, who leads the church and ensures order in the country. "Strong order - strong morality - strong faith" - the Protestant Lutheran sought to protect these principles at all costs.

Catholics saw the way to salvation through the strengthening of the church, the fight against its enemies. And there were many of them - half of Europe heretics-Protestants, not to mention non-Christian peoples! Catholics saw 2 ways to deal with the servants of the devil: either return them to the bosom of the Catholic Church, or exterminate them.

Both Catholics and Protestants were sure that only a part of the people would be saved, and the rest would perish. This greatly fueled the passions. Before the eyes of believers, the image of a hidden, but omnipresent enemy, an accomplice of the devil, constantly arose. They searched for and found the enemy everywhere: in Catholics and Protestants, Jews and Muslims, usurers and seigneurs, in black cats, neighbors, beautiful women and ugly old women ...

The peasant war in Germany (1524-1525) frightened many princes, and they hastened to return to Catholicism. Those who remained Lutherans concluded in 1531. between themselves union in the city of Schmalkalden. Emperor Charles 5, seeing in him a threat of a split in the empire, decided to deal with the rebellious princes.

In 1546 he starts a war against them, which lasted intermittently until 1555, when the Catholics and Protestants of Germany signed the Treaty of Agsburg, which proclaimed the principle: "Whose power, that is faith." In other words, the prince determined the faith of his subjects.

Despite the Schmalkaldic wars, the empire of Charles 5 did not break up into Protestant and Catholic parts, but was divided between the Spanish and Austrian monarchs from the Habsburg dynasty. In 1556 Charles 5 abdicated. In Spain, which belonged to the Netherlands and Southern Italy, his son, Philip 2, came to power. The rest of the possessions, along with the imperial crown, passed to the Austrian Habsburgs, led by the brother of Charles 5, Ferdinand 1.

Wars of Religion in France .

In the south of France, Calvinism became widespread. French Calvinists were called Huguenots. Most of them were wealthy townspeople, dissatisfied with the gradual loss of ancient city liberties and increasing taxes. Among them were many nobles, mainly from the south of France. The Huguenots were headed by close relatives of the king - aristocrats from the house of Bourbon.

Royal power in France in the early sixties of the 16th century was very weak. Therefore, close kings played an important role in the country - the dukes of Giza from Lorraine, as well as the queen mother, Catherine de Medici, regent of the young Charles 9. They remained faithful to Catholicism.

In 1562 in France, an edict was issued that allowed the Huguenots to have their own communities, to profess Calvinism, but with great restrictions. To the Catholics it seemed too much, and to the Huguenots too little. The tension in the country grew. The reason for the outbreak of war was the attack of the Duke of Guise on the praying Huguenots in the town of Vassy.

During the first ten years of a bloody war, François Guise and Antoine Bourbon, the leaders of the warring parties, were killed. Everyone is tired of the war. Catholics and Protestants decided to end the strife. Reconciliation was supposed to be carried out at the wedding of the king's sister, Margarita of Valois, with Antoine Bourbon's son, Henry of Navarre. Protestants by that time had received the right to hold public office and became an influential force at court. They developed a plan for war with Spain. All this greatly excited Catherine de Medici, as it weakened her influence on her son-king. Catherine convinced him that the Protestants were plotting. The king decided right at the wedding to deal with the Huguenots.

On the night of August 24, 1572. on a signal - the sound of a bell - the Catholics rushed to destroy the Huguenots who had come to the wedding with their families. Cruelty knew no bounds. In Paris, on the eve of St. Bartholomew's Day, several hundred Huguenots were slaughtered, among them many women and children. This event went down in history as St. Bartholomew's Night. In total, 30,000 Huguenots were killed in France at that time.

Under pain of death, the king forced Henry of Navarre to convert to Catholicism. Subsequently, he fled and led the Huguenots in the south of France. The war broke out with renewed vigor.

In 1585 Catholics created their own organization - the Catholic League, led by Henry of Giza. But the new king of France, Henry 3, considered this a personal insult and declared himself head of the league. Parisians in May 1588 openly sided with the Guises, so the king was forced to turn to Henry of Navarre for help. When Henry of Guise claimed his rights to the throne, the king ordered his death. For this murder, the king himself paid with his life.

With his death, in 1589, the Valois dynasty ended. Five years of brutal civil wars began. Spain took advantage of this. At the invitation of the Catholic League, Spanish troops were brought into Paris. King Philip II of Spain and the Pope wanted to raise a Spanish prince to the French throne. French Catholics and Protestants united against an external enemy. Henry of Navarre - Henry IV of Bourbon (1589 - 1610) was proclaimed King of France. In 1593, he again converted to Catholicism, uttering the famous phrase: "Paris is worth a mass." In 1594 Paris opened the gates to its rightful king.

Henry 4 defeated the troops of Philip 2. Now he needed to reunite the country, especially since for 30 years of the Huguenot wars France was devastated, uprisings of peasants and urban lower classes became more frequent.

In 1598 Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes. Catholicism remained the state religion of France, but the Huguenots were able to practice Calvinism and have their own church. The guarantee of the word of the king was 200 fortresses left to the Huguenots. They also received the right to hold public office.

The Edict of Nantes was the first example in Europe of the establishment of religious tolerance. State interests, unity and peace in the country turned out to be higher than religious disputes. However, in 1685 King Louis 14 annulled it, and hundreds of thousands of Huguenots were forced to flee.

Edict of Nanat, 1598.

“Henry, by the grace of God, King of France and Navarre, greetings to all who are present and who have to appear. By this eternal and irrevocable edict we have said, declared and commanded the following:

In order to give no cause for confusion and strife among our subjects, we have allowed and allow those who profess the so-called reformed religion to live and dwell in all cities and places of our kingdom and areas subject to us without persecution, oppression and compulsion to do anything in the matter of religion, contrary to their conscience...

We also allow all who adhere to the said religion to continue to profess it in all cities and places subordinate to us, where it was introduced and several times publicly practiced ...

In order to better unite the desire of our subjects ... and for the future to stop all complaints, we declare that all who profess or will profess the so-called reformed religion have the right to occupy all public offices ... and can be accepted and admitted to us without distinction ... "

Thirty Years' War .

In the first half of the 17th century, a war broke out in Europe, which was called the Thirty Years (1618 - 1648). The war began within the Holy Roman Empire as a religious one. Later, other states joined it - Denmark, Sweden, France, Holland and Spain, pursuing their own interests. Therefore, it is considered the last religious and the first all-European war.

The Thirty Years' War can be conditionally divided into several periods. In different periods, different countries participated in the war, and success turned out to be on one side or the other.

The bloody events in the Czech Republic, which belonged to the Austrian Habsburgs, laid the foundation for the war. The emperor decided to declare his nephew, a pupil of the Jesuits and a persecutor of Protestants, the Czech king. On May 23, 1618, outraged Czech Protestant nobles threw the royal governors out of the windows of the Prague Castle. Thus began the uprising. The rebels, hoping for help from the Protestant Union - the union of German Protestant princes, elected the head of the union, Frederick of the Palatinate, as king of the Czech Republic. The Protestants defeated the Habsburg troops. However, in the fall of 1620. the country was occupied by the forces of the Catholic League - an association of Catholic princes.

After the events in the Czech Republic, the Habsburg troops began to move into Central and Northern Germany in order to defeat the troops of the Protestant Union. The Protestant princes were supported by Denmark and Sweden, who sought to seize the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, as well as France and England, who wanted to weaken the empires of the Austrian and Spanish Habsburgs.

All the hardships of the war fell on the shoulders of the German people. Mercenary armies, in pursuit of rich booty, destroyed and plundered cities and villages, mocked civilians and killed them.

The outstanding commander of the Thirty Years' War was Albrecht Wallenstein (1583-1634). He proposed the creation of a mercenary army, independent of the Catholic League, whose members feared the strengthening of the emperor's power. Vlenshtein recruited 20,000 mercenaries with his own money, intending to continue to support them through robbery and extortion from the population of the occupied regions. The commander adhered to the principle of "war feeds war."

Soon Wallenstein defeated the Danes and their allies and invaded Denmark. The Danish king asked for peace, which was signed in 1629 in Lübeck. The Catholic princes were dissatisfied with the commander's lust for power, his desire to create a strong centralized state in Germany. They obtained from the emperor the removal of Vlenshtein from command and the dissolution of the army he had created.

However, soon Germany was invaded by the army of the Swedish king Gustav-Adolf, who was a talented commander. He won victory after victory and occupied southern Germany. The emperor was forced to seek help from Valenstein, who again led the army. In November 1632, at the battle of Lützen, the Swedes defeated the troops of Vlenshtein, but Gustavus Adolphus died in the battle. After the death of the king-commander, Valenstein began negotiations with the enemy. The emperor, fearing his betrayal, in 1634. removed Valenstein from command. Soon he was killed by the conspirators.

After the death of Valenstein, the war continued for another 14 years. The bowl of scales outweighed it in one direction, then in the other direction. France intervened in the war, which made an alliance with Holland and Sweden. Cardinal Richelieu promised the German princes military and financial assistance. In 1642-1646. the Swedes were advancing in Germany; France and Holland took possession of Alsace and won victories in the Southern Netherlands over the Spaniards - allies of the Austrian Habsburgs. After that, it became clear that the empire had lost the war, and on October 24, 1648. in Münster and Osnabrück, a peace treaty was signed, called the Westphalian. He laid the foundations for a new order of interstate relations in Europe.

The Catholic and Protestant churches were recognized as equal in rights and the principle was fixed: "Whose power, that is faith." The Peace of Westphalia kept Germany fragmented. The victorious countries - France and Sweden - expanded their possessions at the expense of the possessions of the Austrian and Spanish Habsburgs. Increased in size Prussia; The independence of Holland and Switzerland was officially confirmed.

Society of Jesus and the Jesuits .

In 1540, with the permission of Pope Paul 3, a new monastic order was established - the Society of Jesus, better known as the Jesuits. It was called an order without monasteries, and this is a very important difference from its predecessors. The Jesuits did not fence themselves off from the world with thick walls, they lived among believers, participated in their daily affairs and worries.

The founder of the order was the Spanish nobleman Ignacio Loyola (1491-1556). When he, the thirteenth child in the family, chose military career, no one was surprised: this is the usual way of the Spanish nobleman. But at the age of 30, he was seriously wounded in both legs. In half-forgetfulness, he dreamed of the apostle Peter, who said that he would heal him himself. At that time, the construction of St. Peter's Cathedral, the residence of the popes, was being completed. Ignacio saw in the appearance of the apostle a sign from above, calling him to help the church and the holy throne, and he decided to start the life of a spiritual preacher. At 33, he sat down at the school desk, and later received a university education.

Iron discipline reigned in the Jesuit order. It was more like a military organization. At the head of the order was General - Ignacio Loyola. A Jesuit should be in the hands of his boss like a corpse that can be turned over, said Loyola, like a ball of wax, from which you can do anything. And if the boss orders to commit a sin, the Jesuit must, without hesitation, fulfill the order: the boss is responsible for everything.

The Jesuits considered their main task to influence the minds of people. For this, all means are good, they believed. The treachery and intrigues of the Jesuits very soon became public knowledge.

Some Jesuits did not wear monastic clothes and led a secular lifestyle, so that it was more convenient to make their way into any society and achieve influence there.

The Jesuits even organized the assassinations of monarchs. So in 1610. The French king Henry 4 was killed, who was about to take the side of the German Protestant princes against the Catholic emperor of Habsburg. Fighting heresies, the Jesuits often directed the activities of the Inquisition.

And yet this did not determine their role and significance. The English historian Macaulay wrote of the Jesuits: "Even their enemies had to admit that they had no equal in the art of directing and developing young minds." Their main activity took place in the schools, universities, and seminaries they created. Four out of every five members of this order were students and teachers. By the time of Loyola's death, in 1556, there were about 1,000 people in the order, and 33 in Europe. educational institutions controlled by the Jesuits. Among the Jesuits there were many talented, highly educated teachers, and young minds and souls were drawn to them. In all countries, the Jesuits tried to show respect for the customs and traditions of the population.

The Jesuits were active in Poland, Hungary, Ireland, Portugal, Germany and Venice, as well as for some time in the Muscovite state. In 1542 they reached India, in 1549 - to Brazil and Japan, in 1586 - to the Congo, and in 1589 they settled in China.

In Paraguay, for 150 years, there was a state created by the Jesuits. It was inhabited by 150 thousand Guarani Indians, and in terms of area it was more than 2 times larger than Portugal. Life here was built on the principles of Christian morality and virtue. The Jesuits created the Guarani script, printing houses printed textbooks, theological works, works on astronomy, geography. The Indians built and painted temples, striking the Jesuits with the depth of Christian feelings. The utmost honesty and decency of the holy fathers, their talent for organizing, their desire to live for the good of the Indians won them sincere love and devotion to the Guarani.

Conclusion.

In countries where the Reformation won, the church found itself in great dependence on the state, enjoyed less power than in Catholic states, and as a result of secularization, it lost its economic power. All this facilitated the development of science and secular culture.

As a result of the Reformation, all of Europe became split into two parts. The Catholic Church ceased to be the church of all Western Europe. From it stood out an independent powerful religious direction - Protestantism - the third direction in Christianity.

Protestantism has developed a special ethics that is functioning today in the minds of millions of people - the ethics of labor, economic activity, contractual relations, accuracy, frugality, pedantry, i.e. burgher virtues that have become part of the flesh, blood and everyday life of the countries of Western Europe and the New World.

The increasingly influential bourgeoisie received a "cheap", simple and convenient religion that met the interests of this class.

Such a religion does not require big money for the construction of expensive temples and the maintenance of a magnificent cult, which takes place in Catholicism. It does not take much time for prayers, pilgrimages to holy places, other rites and rituals.

She does not constrain the life and behavior of a person by observing fasts, choosing food, etc. She does not require any external manifestations of her faith. Such a religion suits the modern business person quite well.

Division of European Christianity after the Reformation.

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1996 volume 1.

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The Reformation (from Latin Reformatio - transformation) is a broad social movement in Western and Central Europe in the 16th century, aimed at reforming Christian doctrine. Start date of the Reformation - October 31, 1517 associated with the publication of the so-called. "95 Theses" by M. Luther in Wittenberg (Saxony).

The main directions of the Reformation:

• burgher (M. Luther, J. Calvin, W. Zwingli);
• folk (T. Münzer, Anabaptists);
• royal-princely.

The Reformation was ideologically connected with the peasant wars of 1524 - 1526. in Germany, the Netherlands and the English Revolution. The Reformation is a continuation of the Renaissance, but contradicts some of the Renaissance trends.

The ideologists of Protestantism actually denied the rights of the church to land ownership, disputed the Catholic Holy Scriptures. In Protestantism, the importance of church organization was reduced to a minimum. The main thing in the matter of salvation was recognized as individual faith, which is based on a person's personal relationship with God. Salvation is not meritorious, but forgiven arbitrarily by God. Prayers, worship of icons, veneration of saints, church rituals are considered by Protestants to be in vain in the matter of salvation. To believe in the atoning sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ, to follow high moral behavior, to be active in the professional and social field, all together is the way of salvation. Evidence of chosenness success in career, family life. The source of religious truth is Holy Scripture. The opinions of the Holy Fathers, theologians, and the Pope of Rome are not regarded by Protestants as authoritative. The priest in Protestantism is an elected office. The ideologists of Protestantism focused a person on earthly realities - work, family, self-improvement. Protestant ethics, according to Max Weber, formed among Europeans the "spirit of capitalism", which is characterized by diligence, thrift, and professional conscientiousness.

The early reformers were supporters of non-intervention of the church in state affairs. However, the doctrine of the Calvinists gave ideological grounds in some cases not to obey the authorities. The Reformers were the first to translate the Bible into modern languages ​​(Wycliffe in England, Hus in the Czech Republic, Luther in Germany).

The Reformation, which began in Germany, quickly spread to European countries. Its supporters began to be called Protestants (from Latin protectans - objecting, disagreeing).

Reformation in Switzerland

The center of the reform movement in Switzerland was Zurich, where Luther's supporter priest Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) began his sermons, who did not recognize the church hierarchy, indulgences, and the veneration of icons. After his death, in clashes with the Catholics, the Reformation was led by the Frenchman John Calvin (1509 - 1564), who was forced to leave France due to persecution. The center of the Reformation moved to Geneva, where Calvin settled. He outlined his views in the essay "Instruction in a Christian Pen", the main content of which was the idea of ​​predestination. God predestined some people to salvation, others to perdition, some are destined for heaven, others hell. No living person knows this, but by leading a virtuous life, a person can hope for salvation. At the same time, a sure sign of a person's chosenness is his success in earthly affairs. The most important rule proclaimed respect for property as a gift from God, which should be multiplied. Whoever does not show diligence and thrift, he falls into sin.

Calvinism turned out to be attractive to the bourgeois strata, since prosperity in life, enrichment were declared a charitable deed, and origin and class privileges lost their meaning. Protestantism, in the form of Calvinism, established itself relatively quickly in Switzerland.

Reformation in England

The reformation in England was carried out by the king with the support of the nobles and the bourgeoisie, who hoped to take possession of church lands and property. The reason for the reform of the church was the refusal of the Pope to allow the divorce of King Henry VIII from his first wife, a relative of Charles V. In 1534, the English parliament declared insubordination to Rome and proclaimed the king head of the church. Based on Acts of Parliament of 1536 and 1539. all monasteries were closed, and their property was confiscated and put on sale. The reform was carried out by violent methods, for the denial of the principles of the new church the death penalty was due. For example, the statesman and scientist Thomas More, who did not accept the Reformation, was executed. Attempts to restore Catholicism were unsuccessful. In England, Anglicanism was established - a moderate trend in Protestantism, recognizing the Holy Scriptures as the source of faith. The church became national, indulgences were abolished, the veneration of icons and relics was rejected, the number of holidays was reduced, worship began to be conducted in English. The clergy were obliged to propagate among the parishioners the idea of ​​their complete submission to the king and the prevention of rebellions.

Reformation in the Scandinavian countries

The Reformation in Sweden and Denmark found support from the royal authorities and was carried out mainly in the first half of the 16th century.

In Finland, Norway, Iceland, the Reformation was difficult, as it was combined with the strengthening of foreign royal power. The Reformation ended here at the end of the 16th century. "above". The king became the head of the church, in which Evangelical Lutheran principles were established.

Reformation in France

Already in the 20s. 16th century among the bourgeoisie and the artisan population of southwestern France, Luther's views became popular.

The royal power initially took a position of religious tolerance, but as the activity of the supporters of the Reformation grew, it resorted to repression. The “Fire Chamber” was established, which passed about 500 convictions against “heretics”. However, the Reformation continued to spread, part of the nobility joined it, hoping for the secularization of church lands. Lutheranism began to be supplanted by Calvinism, which did not exclude the struggle against tyranny. Calvinists became known as Huguenots. Since 1560, open clashes between Catholics and Huguenots began, which escalated into religious wars. They continued for 30 years. The religious wars in France involved the British, who helped the Huguenots, and the Spaniards, who supported the Catholics.

In 1570, a peace was signed between the king and representatives of the Reformation movement, according to which Calvinist worship was allowed. However, a new offensive against the Huguenots soon began. One of the most terrible events of these wars was the St. Bartholomew's night.

On St. Bartholomew's Day, in order to reconcile the warring parties, the wedding of the Huguenot leader Henry of Navarre with the king's sister Margaret of Valois was scheduled. The Huguenot aristocracy of the southern regions was invited. The Catholics decided to use this event to massacre their opponents. They marked the houses where the guests stayed, and on the night of August 23-24, 1572, they massacred. Many were killed in their beds. The reprisal against the Huguenots lasted three days, the murders spread to other cities, at least 30 thousand people died. The war resumed with renewed vigor.

In the early 90s. the peasantry, exhausted by the robberies of the soldiers and the taxes of the authorities, came into action under the cry "On the rodents!". The uprising of the Crocans swept up to 40 thousand peasants and forced the nobility and the wealthy part of the bourgeoisie to unite around the royal power, to end the Huguenot wars in order to suppress the rebellious peasants. Henry of Navarre, in order to reconcile the warring parties, compromised, accepted Catholicism. Only then did the gates of Paris open to him.

He is credited with the words: "Paris is worth a mass" (a mass is a Catholic church service). Henry of Navarre was proclaimed King of France and laid the foundation for the Bourbon dynasty.

In 1598, the Edict of Nantes was issued - a law on religious tolerance. He declared Catholicism the official religion, but retained for the Huguenots the right to freedom of religion and the same rights as Catholics to hold public office. It was the first law on freedom of belief in Europe. The religious wars brought the French a lot of suffering and deprivation, which forced them to learn to live in harmony regardless of religion.

counter-reformation

The successes of the reform movements forced the Catholic Church and the feudal forces that supported it to reorganize and fight against the Reformation. The Jesuit Order, founded by the Spanish nobleman Ignatius Layola, became an offensive tool in their hands. The main direction in the activities of the Jesuits was the penetration into all sectors of society, and especially into the ruling ones, with the aim of subordinating their will and goals of the Order and the Catholic Church, educating young people in the spirit of orthodox Catholicism, pursuing the policy of the Roman popes and combating heresies.

The Council of Trent of the Catholic Church, which met from 1545 to 1563, anathematized all the writings and teachings of the Protestants, confirmed the supremacy of the pope over the episcopate, secular authorities, recognized his authority in matters of faith, and rejected all attempts to change the dogmas and organization of the Catholic Church.

Under the name of the Reformation, a large opposition movement against the medieval order of life is known, which swept Western Europe at the beginning of the New Age and expressed itself in the desire for radical transformations, mainly in the religious sphere, which resulted in the emergence of a new dogma - Protestantism in both of its forms: Lutheran And reformed . Since medieval Catholicism was not only a creed, but also a whole system that dominated all manifestations of the historical life of the Western European peoples, the era of the Reformation was accompanied by movements in favor of reforming other aspects of public life: political, social, economic, intellectual. Therefore, the reform movement, embracing the entire XVI and the first half of XVII centuries, was a very complex phenomenon and was determined both by reasons common to all countries, and by special historical conditions each people individually. All these reasons were combined in each country in the most diverse way.

John Calvin, founder of the Calvinist Reformation

The unrest that arose during the era of the Reformation ended on the continent with a religious and political struggle, known as the Thirty Years' War, which ended with the Peace of Westphalia (1648). The religious reform legitimized by this world was no longer distinguished by its original character. When faced with reality, the followers of the new doctrine more and more fell into contradictions, openly breaking with the original reformation slogans of freedom of conscience and secular culture. Dissatisfaction with the results of the religious reform, which degenerated into its opposite, gave rise to a special trend in the Reformation - numerous sectarianism (Anabaptists, independents, levellers etc.), which sought to resolve mainly social issues on religious grounds.

German Anabaptist leader Thomas Müntzer

The era of the Reformation gave all aspects of European life a new direction, different from the medieval one, and laid the foundations of the modern system of Western civilization. A correct assessment of the results of the Reformation era is possible only taking into account not only its initial verbal"freedom-loving" slogans, but also the shortcomings approved by her on practice new Protestant social-church system. The Reformation destroyed the religious unity of Western Europe, created several new influential churches and changed - far from always for the better for the people - the political and social system of the countries affected by it. Secularization in the era of the Reformation of church property often led to the plunder of them by powerful aristocrats, who enslaved the peasantry more than before, and in England they often and massively drove him from the lands by fencing . The shattered authority of the pope was replaced by the obsessed spiritual intolerance of Calvinist and Lutheran theorists. In the 16th-17th centuries, and even in subsequent centuries, its narrow-mindedness far surpassed the so-called "medieval fanaticism." In most Catholic states of this time, there was permanent or temporary (often very wide) tolerance for the supporters of the Reformation, but it was not there for Catholics in almost no Protestant country. The violent extermination by the reformers of objects of Catholic "idolatry" led to the destruction of many of the largest works of religious art, the most valuable monastic libraries. The era of the Reformation was accompanied by a major upheaval in the economy. The old Christian religious principle "production for man" was replaced by another, in fact, atheistic principle - "man for production". Personality has lost its former self-sustaining value. The figures of the Reformation era (especially the Calvinists) saw in it just a cog in a grandiose mechanism that worked for enrichment with such energy and non-stop that the material benefits by no means compensated for the mental and spiritual losses arising from this.

Literature about the era of the Reformation

Hagen. Literary and religious conditions in Germany during the Reformation

Ranke. History of Germany during the Reformation

Egelhaf. History of Germany during the Reformation

Heusser. History of the Reformation

V. Mikhailovsky. On the forerunners and forerunners of the Reformation in the 13th and 14th centuries

Fisher. Reformation

Sokolov. Reformation in England

Maurenbrecher. England during the Reformation

Luchitsky. Feudal aristocracy and Calvinists in France

Erbkam. History of Protestant sects during the Reformation

The beginning of the Reformation in Europe is associated with the name Martin Luther. Martin Luther challenged the Catholic Church at Wittenberg in Saxony. This happened after the arrival in the area of ​​the German preacher Johann Tetzel, who sold indulgences to raise money for Pope Leo X. Indulgences have long been criticized by Catholic theologians (scholars in the field of religion), but their financial success ensured the existence of this practice because it was too profitable to stop it.

In response, on October 23, 1514, Luther placed a document with 95 theses (statements) on the door of the city church. Luther's theses were not radical, but they attracted a large audience, and, thanks to recent developments in the development of printing, they were widely distributed and read everywhere.

Luther's initial criticism of the church was directed against the sale of indulgences, but he went on to attack the core of the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation (the belief that bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ at communion), priestly celibacy, and the primacy of popes. He also called for the reform of religious orders, monasteries, and the return of the simplicity of the earlier church.

lutheran church

The Reformation in Europe spread after Luther's challenge to the established church. He won many followers, but initially Luther only wanted to reform the existing church, not create an entirely new system.

Several attempts were made to reconcile Luther with the religious authorities. In 1521 he was called to present his views before the imperial parliament at Worms, in the presence of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who ruled much of Europe. Luther refused to recant his views and, having already been excommunicated by the pope, he was now outlawed by the emperor.

In response, he founded an independent church and began translating the Bible into German. Previous editions of the Bible were in Latin. Luther's edition allowed people to read the Bible in their own language for the first time.

Part of the strength of Luther's teaching was his call for a Germanic identity. Germany at this point consisted of many independent states that were nominally subject to Emperor Charles V. The German princes wanted to maintain their power, and they saw in Luther's teachings a way to simultaneously get rid of both imperial and ecclesiastical control over Germany. What began as a religious dispute soon became a political revolution.

In 1524, a peasant war broke out in the southwestern part of Germany as a result of economic difficulties in the region. A league of German princes, backed by Luther, brutally crushed the uprising in 1526. The rebellion horrified Luther, as did the secular leaders against whom it was directed.

One by one, the northern German states - Saxony, Hesse. Brandenburg, Braunschweig and others accepted Lutheranism. Each state seized control of the church, strengthening the power of the ruler over its people.

worldwide response

The appeal of Lutheranism was not limited to Germany. In 1527, King Gustav Vasa of Sweden, who had achieved independence from Denmark and Norway in 1523, seized church lands to provide funds for his new state. He then reformed the new state church according to Lutheran rules.

A similar process of adaptation of Lutheranism took place in Denmark and Norway in 1536. In England, the break with the Roman Church occurred after the pope refused to approve the divorce of Henry VIII from his wife Catherine of Aragon. Henry replaced the pope as head of the English church.

Political implications

The political response to the Lutheran Reformation was led by Emperor Charles V, but his vast possessions in Europe brought him into conflict, incl. and with France. Warfare between these two powers, and between Charles and the growing power of the Muslim Ottoman Empire in the Mediterranean and the Balkans, meant that he could not devote all his resources to destroying Lutheranism in Germany.

Charles defeated the Lutherans at the Battle of Mühlberg in 1547, but failed to politically destroy them. A religious and political compromise was finally reached after the peace of Augsburg in 1555, by which the emperor gave a decree to every prince in his empire to choose between Catholicism and Lutheranism, and to spread this faith among his subjects.

Luther himself was a conservative theologian and respected order. But many of those who followed him were much more radical.

Zwingli and Calvin

In Zurich W. Zwingli converted the city to the Lutheran faith. His 67 theses in 1523 were adopted by the city councils as official doctrine. However, he disagreed with Luther about the nature of the Eucharist (the bread and wine taken during communion) and began to lead the Swiss church in a more radical, non-hierarchical direction. His death in 1531 during the defense of Zurich against the Catholic cantons (provinces) of Switzerland slowed the momentum of the Reformation in Switzerland.

John Calvin, who began to create a new religious center in Geneva, subsequently became a key figure associated with the Protestant reform in Switzerland. Calvin converted to the new reformed faith in 1533 and settled in Geneva in 1536. There he developed a more austere form of Protestantism based on his own reading of Scripture and his deep academic background, which emphasized purpose—the power of God over all human actions.

Although Calvin himself did not develop any practical theory of resisting wicked authority like that of the Catholic Church or Catholic rulers, many of his followers were willing to defend their views by force on the basis of his teachings. Like Luther, he emphasized the direct relationship of the individual to God without the mediation of the pope or priests, and the primacy of the Bible as the basis of all preaching and teaching. The Bible was now widely circulated in modern languages and not in Latin, the language of the church.

Unlike Luther, however, who believed in the political subordination of the church to the state, Calvin preached that church and state should work together to create a divine society in which religious beliefs and a strict code of conduct should govern every aspect of daily life.

Calvinism spread to Scotland, the Netherlands, and many parts of France, where its followers were known as Huguenots, as well as to various parts of the German states, to Bohemia and Transylvania. Calvinism also inspired the Puritan movement in England and later in North America, where its adherents wanted to cleanse the Anglican Church of the Catholic elements remaining in it, in particular, from the power of bishops and other "papist" decorations - church robes, utensils and music.

Catholic response

The original Catholic response to the Reformation was to excommunicate those who rebelled against it. When it became clear that this would not help defeat the Reformation, the Catholic Church began to reform itself on the basis of internal calls for church reform that long predated Luther's speech.

After three meetings at Trident in the Italian Alps in 1545-1563. The Catholic Church began the Counter-Reformation. The Catholic Counter-Reformation developed successfully, strengthening Catholicism both theologically and politically, although a more authoritarian orthodoxy was established.

Poland, Austria, and Bavaria became fully Catholic, but while Germany was largely at peace, a strong Calvinist (Huguenot) presence in France sparked long religious wars that only ended after the Edict of Nantes in 1598 declared religious toleration. . At the end of the century, perhaps 40% of the population of Europe followed one or the other reformed beliefs.

The most acute hostility to the church was in Germany. The country was fragmented into many small principalities, in whose affairs the Pope intervened especially unceremoniously. Economic positions, the privileged position of archbishops, bishops, prelates and monasteries, caused great envy among all sections of the population.

In October 1517, a monk, professor at the University of Wittenberg Martin Luther(1483-1546) nailed on the doors of the local cathedral a scroll with 95 theses, which contained a program of reform, fundamental changes in the life of the Catholic Church. The main thing was the demand for a "cheap" church, the elimination of the power of the Pope over the German church, the submission of the last secular power. Luther spoke for secularization(seizure) of most of the church property and its transfer into the hands of the state; for the dissolution of spiritual orders, for the rejection of the cult of saints, icons, relics; against the practice of selling indulgences, confirming the remission of sins. Luther believed that in order to ascertain the grace of God, a person does not need the mediation of an organization such as the Roman church was. He considered the highest authority Holy Bible, and not sacred tradition, the decisions of the Pope and church councils.

Names. Martin Luther

Martin Luther (1483–1546). Luther was the son of a peasant, but thanks to his father he was educated and graduated from the University of Erfurt with a doctorate in Holy Scripture. During a heavy thunderstorm, lightning struck a friend who was walking next to him. Martin, attributing his salvation to a miracle, decided to devote himself to God and entered a monastery. Luther was excommunicated for his 95 theses and his public defense of them. Luther burned the papal bull on this occasion and all the writings on the rights of the Pope in Wittenberg in the presence of students and professors, and called the Pope himself the Antichrist.

Luther was waiting for the fate of many heretics condemned by the church. So, in 1415, by decision of the papal council and with the tacit consent of the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, a preacher and professor at the University of Prague, Jan Hus, was burned, who delivered sermons in Czech, denounced abuses in the Catholic Church and argued that the Pope illegally calls himself the head of church, because the head of the church is the Savior himself.

The German reformer was taken under his protection by the Saxon elector Frederick the Wise. With his approval, major changes were made to Wittenberg by Luther. He closed the monasteries and ordered the relics and icons to be removed from the temples, leaving only the Crucifixion of Christ the Savior, since he considered monasticism and the worship of relics to be contrary to Holy Scripture. The temples were deprived of decorations, and the clergy were deprived of luxurious robes. Instead of the liturgy, sermons and hymns were sung in German. Of the seven sacraments: baptism, communion, confirmation, unction, confession, marriage, and priesthood, – he left only the first two. Of the holidays, Christmas, Easter and a few others were left. Luther translated the Bible into German, considered it necessary to teach all children to read and sing. Many schools were opened in the Electorate of Saxony. Subsequently, in Lutheran countries in the XVIII– early 19th century primary education became compulsory for all children. Luther married and had children. The name Luther bears a variety of Christianity - Lutheranism, or Protestantism. .

Reformation affected many European countries and took place in various forms. In Germany itself, Lutheran teaching by the end of the 20s. 16th century established itself in a number of principalities and cities in the North and in the Center of the country. The desire of the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Charles V, to restore the former order led to rallying and collective protest of the supporters of the reform. Protestants v. 1555 won the war against the emperor. The peace of Augsburg established the principle "whose power, that is faith."

In Switzerland, the leader of one of the varieties of the burgher (urban) Reformation was the priest of the city of Zurich Ulrich Zwingli (1484–1531). He was a strong supporter of the republic and, unlike Luther, denounced the "tyranny" of monarchs and princes. In Zurich, the townspeople began to elect their own pastors and magistrates. In the same place, in Switzerland, in Geneva, a Frenchman John Calvin (1509–1564) recognized no sacraments. Worshiping icons and even the cross was considered idolatry, from the holidays he recognized only Sunday, and in the church hierarchy, only the priesthood. In the book “Instruction in the Christian Faith”, he substantiated the possibility for a person to change for the better the sentence that God pronounced on each person even before the creation of the world. To do this, people must be active, hardworking, thrifty, prudent. John Calvin taught that an entrepreneur who succeeds in his activities is destined for salvation in the next world, and for a good worker the path to wealthy owners is opened. Calvin justified slavery and colonialism. He considered the oligarchic republic to be the best system. In the Calvinist community, which itself elected and controlled its leaders, there were strict rules and severe punishments. “Better to be in hell than with Calvin in heaven,” contemporaries said.

Gradually, the Reformation gained momentum. In Denmark in 1536 was held confiscation lands of churches and monasteries. The king became the head of the reformed church, he himself appointed the church administration that pleased him, and Lutheranism from then to the present day it has been the state religion in this country. The "Danish Reformation", "from above", was carried out in Norway, which ensured its subordination to Denmark, and then to Iceland. Bishops remained in Sweden, but the king became the highest of them. The rest had to swear allegiance to him, not to the Pope.

In England, the Church objected to the arbitrariness and questionable marriages of Henry VIII. He married six times (the church "norm" is no more than three marriages), and he executed two of his wives. By a special act of 1534, the monastic lands were confiscated in favor of the treasury, to the delight of many courtiers and officials. The cult and dogma remained the same, but the bishops were appointed by the king himself, the Pope lost his influence. This church was named Anglican. Calvinism had a huge impact on the spiritual life of English society and its preparation for the English revolution of the 17th century.

Table 12 Differences between Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism

The Reformation met with fierce resistance catholic church. For the war with Satan (Lutherans, Calvinists, and later with the Orthodox) in 1540 was created Jesuit Order(society, or host, of Jesus). The Jesuits were not monastic recluses. They aspired to become confessors, advisers, mentors in schools, writers, mechanics in factories, missionaries, merchants, etc. They were united by the desire to spread devotion to the Pope and instill hatred of heretics.

The Jesuits sought to influence the rulers, to move them to violence against the Protestants. So, in France on August 24, 1572, on the night before the day of St. Bartholomew, on the orders of King Charles IX, Catholics killed two thousand Protestants. (In France, Calvinists were called Huguenots, after a ghost who was a believer.) In two weeks, 30,000 people were killed across the country. The massacre of Bartholomew was marked by a prayer of thanksgiving and a medal struck at the direction of the Pope. After a difficult struggle, the Protestants received the opportunity for free religion, but France remained a Catholic country.

Man and woman in the history of civilizations

Luther believed that the main purpose of a woman is to accompany a man. He allowed sex only within the framework of marriage, had a negative attitude towards prostitution and was a supporter of the celibacy of priests. But then he created a family himself, was a good husband and caring father. In Protestant countries, the clergy, following Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin, unanimously ended celibacy within a single generation. There was a war in the Calvinist communities against adultery, drunkenness, gambling. Calvin viewed the syphilis epidemic as God's punishment for promiscuity and insisted on increasing the demands on moral principles. The opinion prevailed that God created a woman not only to give birth to children, to satisfy the sexual needs of a man, but also to be a life partner. In Protestant countries, petty-bourgeois virtues were put at the basis of Protestant sexual culture: chastity, modesty, etc.

In Germany, the initiator of the protracted Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) became a graduate of the Jesuit University in Bavaria, the Czech king Ferdinand P. He considered himself an instrument for the eradication of heresy, believed that "a desert is better than a country inhabited by heretics." A bloody war devastated the country. Germany's population has fallen from 21 million to 13 million. According to the Peace of Westphalia, Protestants received freedom of religion, but Germany was fragmented into 300 separate lands. The loss of population was so great that in some communities men were required to take polygamy for ten years. The weakening of Germany was accompanied by the rise of Sweden.

As a result counter-reformation Catholicism managed to maintain its position in France, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Italy, Spain, and Germany, but the face of Europe changed. In countries where it matured new civilization, capitalist relations were formed, the church was put at the service of the industrial and commercial bourgeoisie, did not interfere with the activity of rich, enterprising people, did not withdraw a significant part of their income for their needs.